THE European Community Shipowners Associations (ESCA) says world shipping is unlikely to meet an end-2016 deadline for setting targets on developing a plan to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions.

The statement was made in response to a European Commission call on the UN's International Maritime Organisation (IMO) to present measures to cut emissions by the end of 2016, Reuters reports. 

The move is part of an EU pledge to cut 1990-level greenhouse gas emissions by 40 per cent by 2030, Reuters reports.

Said ESCA secretary general Patrick Verhoeven: "2016 is right around the corner and as such it is unrealistic to expect the IMO to come up with a solution in a matter of months."

Debate on how to curb shipping emissions, which the commission estimates account for three per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions and four per cent of EU greenhouse gas emissions, has rumbled on for years with little progress, said Reuters.

But International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) said: "Shipping meanwhile has already reduced its total CO2 emissions by more than 10 per cent (2007- 2012) and CO2 per tonne/mile by around 20 per cent (2005, 2015). It is therefore on course for carbon neutral growth."

"The industry is investing billions to ensure compliance and the huge costs involved could have a profound impact on the future structure of the shipping industry," said ICS secretary general Peter Hinchliffe in a statement last year.